Wednesday, November 23, 2016

With the
increased level of pet ownership, issues regarding “faux emotional support
animals” (a situation where an owner/tenant is bending or breaking the rules to
obtain a pet accommodation when pets are banned) and the need to attract more
tenants and buyers, many apartments, landlords and condominium associations
have started to adopt pet friendly rules.
If you are considering allowing pets as a landlord or association, you
should consider adopting special rules and regulations to control the living
and activity of any pet allowed in your property.

The starting
point should be the registration of any permitted pet. This would include an application describing
the pet, its weight, color, breed, sex, vaccination status, county registration
and spay/neuter information. Each owner
should also be required to provide a current vaccination and rabies certificate
from their local veterinarian.

A set of
rules should be provided to each owner with specific limitations and
restrictions. These could include a
requirement for annual vaccination, a limitation on the number of pets (and no
guest pets), a limitation on certain breeds; a weight limitation (many
owners/associations have a twenty to twenty-five pound weight limit); a leash
requirement; a specific place for pet defecation; a solid waste removal
requirement and provisions to prevent breeding, noise/barking; restrictions on
leaving pets on a balcony or outdoors; restrictions on leaving pets alone for
long periods; and a removal policy for any violent or aggressive behavior
against other owners and guests. All
Rules should be acknowledged that they have been read by a tenant/pet owner.

A pet deposit
is often a special condition of landlords that permit pets. The deposit should be separate and apart from
the security deposit. The deposit can be
either refundable or non-refundable.
Most deposits are in the $200 to $300 range. For Associations, a common area deposit can
be used to include damage caused by owners and their pets to common areas.

All pet
owners should be required to provide appropriate renter’s insurance which
should provide coverage for both damage caused by the pet and for any personal injury
caused by the pet, be it a simply excited dog knocking someone over or a vicious
cat or dog that bites or scratches someone on the property. Some basic renter policies exclude or limit
animal coverage, especially as it relates to certain breeds, so this issue must
be reviewed before allowing certain pets.

For associations
and apartment buildings that have had solid waste issues, it is now common to
require DNA registration of all approved pets and to adopt a fine for failing
to pick up after a pet goes on common areas.
As part of any approval of a pet, the animal’s cheek is swabbed and the
dog’s DNA is registered by a company that provides a monitoring service. If uncollected feces are found, the solid
waste is collected and a small sample sent to the testing company.

Once tested
and compared to the DNA information on file, the testing company can determine
if any registered dog is the responsible pet.
Once identified, the pet’s owner can then be fined for the violation
plus the cost of the test. The average
cost for a service like this is about $50 per pet at the registration phase and
$75-150 to test the feces to determine a match.
Combining DNA testing, fines for violations and Poop Bag Stations can
eliminate most issues relating to uncollected waste.

Proper
planning, deposits and rules can go a long way to eliminate most issues relating
to allowing pets. This will expand the
pool of buyers/tenants and prevent common problems from hidden pets, faux ESA
animals or unregulated animals in places where pets are permitted but no
procedures have been adopted.

Michael
J Posner, Esq., is a partner in Ward Damon a mid-sized real estate and business
oriented law firm serving all of South Florida, with offices in Palm Beach
County. They specialize in real estate
and can assist landlords and associations in addressing animal issues. They can be reached at 561.594.1452, or at
mjposner@warddamon.com

About Me

I am a Florida Board Certified Real Estate Attorney with 30+ years of residential and commercial real-estate experience.
I am an equity partner in Ward, Damon, Posner, Pheterson & Bleau, a mid-sized law firm serving all of South Florida, with three offices in Palm Beach County. Our firm specialize in and can assist in buying, borrowing and selling property throughout South Florida. I can be reached at 561.594-1452, mjposner@warddamon.com or www.warddamon.com